An hypothesis was formulated that phosphorus (P) partitioning in tissues of C4 leaves would permit C4 plants to resist P deficiency better than C3 plants. To test this hypothesis, 12 C3, C4, and C3-C4 intermediate species were grown at adequate, deficient, and severely deficient P supply in a solid-phase-buffered sand culture system to characterize photosynthetic and growth responses. Species d...

The contribution of complement to the development of autoimmune diabetes has been proposed recently. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), which act as regulators in autoimmunity, play a role in resistance to diabetes in absence of complement C3. Indeed, MDSC number was increased significantly in STZ-treated C3...

Evidence has been obtained that a single protein, known to modulate classical complement activation, also acts as an inhibitor in the properdin or alternate complement pathway. A highly purified inactivator of the third component of complement (C3) from human serum inhibited the proteolysis of Factor B in the properdin system (glycine-rich beta-glycoprotein) by glycine-rich beta-glycoproteinase...

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare hematological disorder associated with an acquired deficiency in glycophosphatidylinositol-anchor biosynthesis that renders erythrocytes susceptible to complement attack. Intravascular hemolysis via the membrane attack complex is a clinical hallmark of the disease, and C5 blockade is currently the only approved treatment for PNH. However, resi...

Complement has been implicated in liver repair after toxic injury. Here, we demonstrate that complement components are essential for liver regeneration, and mediate their effect by interacting with key signaling networks that promote hepatocyte proliferation. C3- or C5-deficient mice exhibited high mortality, parenchymal damage, and impaired liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. Mice wi...

Erythrocytes coated with varying amounts of human complement were used to detect lymphocytes with complement receptors from normal subjects and patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The relationship between the percentage of lymphocytes rosetting and the quantity of C3 present on complement-coated erythrocytes were studied. Small quantities of C3 (less than 5 fg/erythrocyte) caused maxima...

primary antibody deficiencies are the most frequent primary immunodeficiency disorders. bronchiectasis as a feature of these disorders may be developed due to some factors such α-1-antitrypsin deficiency. in order to determine the prevalence of two common α-1-antitrypsin deficiency alleles (pi*z and pi*s) in iranian patients with antibody deficiency, this study was performed. the prevalence of ...

Complement receptors (CRs) CD21 and CD35 form a coreceptor with CD19 and CD81 on murine B cells that when coligated with the B-cell receptor lowers the threshold of activation by several orders of magnitude. This intrinsic signaling role is thought to explain the impaired humoral immunity of mice bearing deficiency in CRs. However, CRs have additional roles on B cells independent of CD19, such ...

AKI accelerates cystogenesis. Because cystogenic mutations induce strong transcriptional responses similar to those seen after AKI, these responses may accelerate the progression of cystic renal disease. Here, we modulated the severity of the AKI-like response in Cys1(cpk/cpk) mice, a model that mimics autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease. Specifically, we induced or inhibited activity...